In the past eight months, ignoring with a hint of repression has often seemed as a contraproductive tactic for Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vučić. However, Serbian society appears to have grown a bit tired. Students who were sleeping at their faculty buildings for months and who were the ones who started the wave of change in the country have started with online classes and are slowly preparing for exams. Municipal assembly groups took the torch from the students and are trying to keep the flame alive, but the summer and holiday season are leaving them in a difficult position. In the end, we are left with the question of whether all opposition-oriented citizens think favorably of the intersection blockades, especially considering that they are not organized by the students.
All things considered though, a lot has changed since November 1st of last year, when it seemed that the abyss Serbia was in was not only unquestionable, but perhaps permanent. Now it seems like the time of change has come, and unless we’re talking revolution, these changes need to happen through the democratic means of regime change – elections.
The problem, however, is that by many parameters, Serbia is not a democratic country, the ruling party especially. With that in mind, it’s time for some serious strategizing: from how to pressure the regime to call for elections, to deciding who will lead the citizens that want change – students, or the opposing political parties?
The situation is still simmering
In conversation with Mašina, Belgrade’s Biology faculty professor Biljana Stojković, who is also part of the “The university in revolt” and “Free universities of Serbia” initiatives, said that she wouldn’t agree with the statement that rebellion has gone down, that the fire of dissatisfaction has burned out.
“Citizens still have the same opinions and are taking the same actions that have been happening in Serbia for a long time now. The numbers have gone down, that much is true, but we can see that, on the local level, there are numerous protests and blockades, which is definitely a positive sign. Therefore, the fire remains, that is the will is not gone and that’s what’s important”, believes Stojković.
Stojković brings up the “University in revolt” example, one part of it specifically, which she is part of, that has organized the blockade of the Government intersection, as well as of the Academic crisis center.
“We continue to meet, we’re discussing different actions from which one will be carried out very soon”, said the professor.
When asked for comment on the current situation of students going back to universities and how it all played out, Stojković mentions that in the end, breaking the University’s backbone has, to her great regret, broken the spines of many professors.
“I even think that the rectorate had a role in that. That the delegating of pressure from the rectorate to the dean, and then to the professors bore fruit. None of this could’ve happened without the approval of the students. Luckily, some of us were able to keep the students’ trust through our individual actions, so that community is not lost. Most importantly, the students now know which professors they can always count on”, notes Stojković.
On the other hand, European Western Balkans news reporter Sofija Popović told Mašina that the intensity of the protests has gone down a little bit in the past few weeks, in the sense that there is no longer proper coordination in civil actions. She believes the reason for that is the start of summer, but also the fact that protests have been going on for too long.
“I think it’s natural to have ups and downs, but the energy would always come back. I believe the reason behind that is that the student movement became a wider social movement, which is at its core anti-government. In that sense, any government move, whether towards students, citizens or some other topic, can reignite this energy. My impression is that this student movement will have a similar destiny to some previous ones, like the Solidarity one, and so it will last for as long as the government doesn’t change”, said Popović.
The road to elections and who’s on it?
Many from the ruling coalition have been repeating like parrots that elections won’t happen until the legal deadline. Coincidentally or not, that deadline happens to line up with the staging of EXPO 2027. Suddenly, in a country in which regular elections have been held only once, snap elections are no longer possible.
Still, maybe it’s time for the opposition-minded public to regroup and make a plan for further action. Because one thing has been noticeable for eight months now – the opposition has been in the background throughout the protests and blockades.
And that’s no coincidence, for thirteen years now, the regime has been carefully working on having the public be sick of politics. From the very beginning, the students said they didn’t want parties aligning themselves with them, in the meantime they announced the making of the student list, and they even refused the invitation to attend a round table meeting organized by one of the opposition leaders, Miroslav Aleksić.
This meeting was planned to serve as a meeting between the opposition, civil sector organizations, and students, with the goal of creating a plan for further action. That is to say, the round table, like in some previous cases, has the goal of creating a unified and societal front in the fight against the regime.
Stojković believes that, at least for now, the opposition parties must stand behind the unified student list. And that, he adds, they need to do everything they can to help the students – with people, resources, and infrastructure.
Stojković thinks that the elections will happen soon, maybe even by the end of April of next year, meaning that they will be announced around the end of 2025. He concludes that is because the current political and social crisis in Serbia cannot end any other way.
Popović, on the other hand, believes that elections will take place a little later, so that campaigning should already be in full swing.
“I think that the ruling party put an end to the question of snap parliamentary elections. Whatever happens, I think they will try to keep the current government in place for as long as possible. However, my opinion is that the students should, instead of constantly insisting on snap elections, actually start preparing for elections which will happen in the end of 2026 and start of 2027. In political terms, that is very soon, so they should start campaigning as soon as possible. Considering the political climate that Serbia is in right now, the fact that it is a captive country, I think that a longer campaign is needed than legally prescribed”, concludes Popović.
M.B., A.S.
